Of Blood and Magic
by Robin the Ylissian Grandmaster
Summary: The year is 1913 and war looms on the horizon, a war that will affect both the muggle and magical worlds. Grindelwald is on the rise and will not hesitate to exploit this war as a proxy for his subjugation of all muggles. It is up to a Chaotic Quartet of friends to both fight for their country and stop this Dark Wizard. But war is never that easy. M for lang., viol., sexual cont.


**A/N: What's this? Grandmaster Robin is writing a fanfic that is not from a gaming or anime fandom? Yeah I couldn't help but fall for the trap that is the Harry Potter Fandom. Please be respectful** **In the comments.**

 **Without further ado, I present Of Blood and Magic's first chapter:**

 **Prologue**

The nineteenth century was a tumultuous era known for all the changes that took place, but it is also marked for all its deadly wars those changes brought upon the world, most notably the Napoleonic Wars. Looking past all the wars, the balance of powers had been settled for the most part by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and when Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo. The Great Powers were no longer looking to fight each other for more than minor scuffles and their attention was focused on spreading their colonial empires, until 1871 when the Kingdom of Prussia decisively defeated the French Empire. In the Aftermath, the German people, excluding Austria of course, were finally unified under the banner of the German Empire. This, however, upset the balance of powers and would culminate tensions throughout the rest of the century and into the first half of the twentieth century. War was on the horizon, and though previous muggle wars had affected the magical world in some ways, they would not be able to stay out of this one. A rising darkness from the wizarding world was ready to launch their crusade onto the world.

 **Berlin, Brandenburg, German Empire. 10 January 1913.**

Johann von Wulf had an adventurous life ever since the moment he first picked up a wand, a life where he had met the greatest friends and most bitter enemies, encountered magical creatures beyond reality, conjured magic that could always bring the beauty and darkness out of the world, and fought fierce battles that would stupefy the muggle mind. However, after all that he still never expected that he would get the chance to visit the Imperial Palace of Berlin, let alone be summoned there by the Kaiser himself. But there he was, walking through the grand corridors of the Baroque styled palace along with his three best friends and colleagues as they were escorted by soldiers, whilst he looked for a peice of art or something to snatch (without being noticed) as a prank.

Johann, Wilhelm von Anhalt, Albrecht Steiger, and Brunhilde von Holt had been friends since they met during their first year of school, with the exception of Johann and Brun who had known each other since childhood. Having been sorted into the same class squad, the quartet learned together, competed together, and fought together through seven long years of the brutal teaching methods at the Black Forest Academy for Magical Arts and Sciences. And just like they did in school, they stuck together as they all joined the Auror Department of the Magical German Chancellery and worked their way up for the past eleven years.

The permanently impish guised Johann had black, messy hair despite regulations and tied for being tallest with his blond compatriot, the ever-so stern-looking Albrecht, though he still held the position of being the oldest. The astute Wilhelm with insipid brunette hair stood just a few centimetres shorter while the galvanic Brunhilde with bob-cut blond hair did not even push one-hundred-and-fifty centimetres. To her detriment, she regularly found herself at the butt of dwarf and elf joke, but she never ran out of material to strike back about.

The four aurors had just returned from a mission in Silesia when they received the summons to Berlin and promptly apparated to the capital from their office in Konigsberg after a brief moment of excitement. Though he was a non-magical man, the Kaiser was popular even among the wizarding population of Germany, so it was no surprise that they all freaked out a little when they asked for by name.

They soon arrived at a set of heavy wooden doors that were guarded by a pair of muggle soldiers as well a male and female pair of aurors from the main branch office. "These four have been summoned by His Majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm II von Hohenzollern," one of their escorts announced their arrival.

The guards nodded in confirmation before approaching the four aurors to pat them down. The auror guards seemed to trust the four to keep their wands while the muggles gave them odd looks for carrying around fancy sticks in holsters, but they let them keep the wands regardless.

"I'm so excited!" the blonde Brunhilde almost squeaked to the others. "Or at least that's what the script says," she mumbled inaudibly.

"Getting felt up by a strange man may be the idea of a good time for you, Brun, but not so much for the rest of good lads here," Johann quipped in response to the blonde-haired woman, resting his hands on his black mop of hair as the guards finished the pat down.

"Can it, Wulf. She meant meeting the Kaiser," Albrecht scolded, fixing his always perfect and even blond hair.

"Up yours, Al. You need to lighten a bit or your first impression to his majesty is going to make him think you're a stiff," Johann retorted with a smirk, only further infuriating his friend.

"You need not be so laid back, lest you be seen as a slacker more than you already are. And lay off the cynicism, the Kaiser is not someone that you want to 'accidentally' insult with your rhetoric," the blonde man accused further with emphasised air-quotes.

"I swear you two are going to be the death of me," Brun sighed, glaring up at the two of them on either side of her.

"You both need to take it notch just for this one time, you're almost always fighting each other when we're not fighting something else," the brunette fourth member voiced lightly to try and ease the tensions.

"Stay out of this, Wil!" the two arguering men glared at him sharply before returning to their stand-off, but he didn't even flinch at that.

Don't get them wrong for their banter of insults and regular arguments, Johan loved his best friends whole-heartedly and trusted them with his life just as much as they did as well. It was just their differing personalities that frequently spawned conflict, but they more often than not resulted in a good punch or two before a hearty laugh in resolution. The group had to stick together, all they had left were each other and their friendship, with a few exceptions of distant branch members of their noble houses that rarely spoke except to ask for money.

The black-haired trickster cracked a grin that broke the tension, "You have got to work on your insults, troll-fucker, everyone knows that I'm a slacker and a cynic. It makes me who I am!"

"A slacker who managed to earn second and lose the valedictorian by a few grade points because he did not feel like doing homework often," Al barked in laughter.

"Hey, I still got second place, but that's because I did a hell of a lot of extra credit," he paused briefly, "and because Miss Klein had a huge crush on me by the time I got to her NEWT level Charms class."

"She did!" the others chorused in laughter at the memories of good times.

But then a muggle soldier cut in before things could escalate any further, "Now you all will mind your manners in his majesty's presence. I'm warning you." They all nodded in silent agreement.

The guards then opened the doors to let the group enter a comfortable room heated by a hearth that held the attention of a half square of couches surrounding a coffee table. It did not seem like an appropriate place to meet the Kaiser for probably important business. They all first noticed the four occupants standing before the hearth, one puffing away at a cigar who they instantly recognized as their boss, the chief of the Imperial Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Reiner von Schmidt, then the Chancellor of Magical Germany, Leopold Hoff. The third was an unknown person with black hair, but the fourth, a more regal, moustachioed man was definitely the emperor. All four of the men looked to be up in their fifties, Johann judged by the greying hairs and growing wrinkles.

While most would have been star-struck by the presence of so many powerful men, Johann just felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of facial hair among the four leaders. Not that he had the desire to grow a beard or moustache, but he definitely felt like the odd man out.

"Your Majesty," the four newcomers managed to bow deeply in unison to the monarch. The door closed behind them while the guards remained outside.

"Ah! Just the wizards... and witch... that I have been waiting to meet," the emperor started with a smile. "Your superior and former teacher here," he nodded to Reiner, "have told me many good things about the four of you and I look forward to seeing your work. Though I have not a clue which one of you is which, except the young lass obviously."

"Senior Special Agent Auror, Captain Johann von Wulf, Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Wulf from Konigsberg, Prussia," the black-haired auror bowed once more.

"Senior Auror First Class, First Lieutenant Brunhilde von Holt, Lady of the Noble House of Holt from Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein," the blond woman announced with a curtsy.

"Senior Auror First Class, Major Albrecht Steiger, Lord of the Noble House of Steiger from Munich, Bavaria," the Blond man bowed deeply.

"Senior Medic Auror, First Lieutenant Wilhelm von Anhalt, Lord of the Noble and Ancient House of Anhalt from Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt," the last of them bowed conservatively.

"Good and strong names, very fitting from what I have heard," the Kaiser praised and the four nodded in thanks on the outside while gleaming with excitement on the inside.

"I don't know how you got anything good out of my stories, Your Majesty, but they are nothing but troublemakers. They are the reason I retired teaching to return to the field as well as my advanced balding," Reiner bemoaned and gestured to his receding hairline. "I nearly had a heart attack when I found out they followed me to the auror department." The Chief's little rant earned a chuckle from everyone else in the room and Johann had to restrain himself from speaking out of place.

"But you never denied their skills in combat and leadership, even praising them occasionally," the emperor countered, his grin as wide as ever.

"Perhaps so," he grumbled.

"It would be down right lies to say otherwise, they graduated from the academy as the top four students with remarkable grades. And I have never seen a team of aurors with a better track record of cases solved," the Chancellor of Magic continued the praise. "They even managed to solve the sinking of the Titanic last year.

The Kaiser and the unknown man gave looks of surprise and shock at that information. While Johann would have normally liked to receive such praises from the Chancellor, it felt excessive and embarrassing to be done in front of the most powerful man in muggle Germany. "Do explain, if you please," the monarch sounded genuinely intrigued.

"Well, following the incident there were a lot of rumours that it wasn't an accident," Brun started off, "so the British Ministry of Magic started an investigation to see if there was anything magical involved. The chancellor here lent us out to the Brits to help as a sign of good will from Germany."

"It took us two weeks to wrap up the case," Wilhelm continued. "Two days to confirm there was magical wrongdoings, five to find and obliviate any muggle witnesses, and a week to track down and capture the culprits in America."

"I swear I will never go back to Florida again, even if they build the best amusement park in the world there," Brun shuddered at the memories of their time in the Everglades.

"It turns out that it was a group of Irish terrorists that attacked the ship as a strike against the British and the Ministry's Statute of Secrecy," Johann finished the story with a grimace. "Lest to say more, there was barely anything left of those bastards to be thrown in Azkaban after we were finished with them."

The four older men nodded in approval, clearly impressed by the group's capabilities. "This and everything else that I have been told about you four," the monarch took a more serious tone, "has confirmed that you are just the wizards I need, that Germany needs. Would you not agree, Chancellor?" he indicated the question to the unknown man, clearly the muggle chancellor, who nodded silently.

"How can we be of service, Your Majesty," Albrecht inquired directly and courteously.

"Straight to the point," Kaiser Wilhelm picked up a glass of coloured liquid and took a swift swig. "I don't know if you have noticed, but tensions are high in the muggle world. The lines have been drawn, pitting the Triple Entante members of Russia and France against Austro-Hungary and ourselves. All it will take is a single spark to light the fires of war. A war so encompassing that it will affect all peoples, including magical ones. You four are here because I need, the people need, the best to ensure our survival as a Nation, because there is no doubt that the French will use whatever they have, including magic, to get revenge on us for the Franco-Prussian War. We need the magical community's help just as much as you need our help."

While none of them were actively looking for a fight, let a lone a war, the four young wizards still felt the urge to do their duty to defend their country should the time come that it was necessary.

"So war is soon to be upon us then, and all attempts to smooth things over have failed?" Brunhilde asked with a sorrowful face.

"Peace talks have been all but useless, doing nothing more than stave off actual hostilities for the time being. It appears to be the inevitable outcome, though, I hate to say this, I wish it were to happen sooner rather than later. That way there would be fewer states dragged into this diplomatic mess, and fewer deaths," the emperor lamented his failure in preventing their current situation.

"One thing, Your Majesty, what about the British? They have to fit to fit into this somehow, they always do in these kinds of situations," Johann remarked humorously.

"Indeed you are correct, Mister Wulf," the Kaiser answered with a wry smile. "But, for once, diplomacy has managed to achieve something this time." The four were surprised, but still grimaced at the fact that all other atempts for peace were failing.

"That would on our part," the Chancellor of Magic stated proudly. "We managed to broker a deal with their wizarding minister for him to keep the British Empire out of any war between us and the French, so long as we do not do anything too stupid. Like widely exposing the magical world or invading the Low Countries to get to France," he gave a mirthful glance to the Kaiser. "Our part of the deal is that we must assist them in capturing a certain dark wizard that has gone rogue recently. They believe he would exploit the war to carry out dark deeds."

Johann scoffed loudly, earning a glare from Albrecht. "Why am I not surprised, another dark wizard rising out of Britain that they can't keep in check. It's like they can't teach their children to play nicely or maybe it's their terrible cooking that drives them to the Dark Arts," he exasperated and in turn received an annoyed poke from Brunhilde.

"What is the name of this wizard?" Al brushed aside the remarks.

"We will send you all his files later, but his name is Grindelwald," Chief Reiner replied through his cigar.

"Gellert Grindelwald?" Wil inquired with a shocked look. He went on to explain when he saw the others looking at him inquisitively, "We meet briefly by chance during the summer of ninety-nine where we shared notes and discussed magical theories along with his friend Albus Dumbledore. He was a brilliant wizard, a bit outspoken about his extreme view points, but I never expected that he would fall completely to the darkness."

"Unfortunately, he is another bright mind that has been corrupted by the darkness," the Chancellor of Magic grimaced. "You four will be transferred to the Kaiser's staff and the Imperial Army to deploy upon his orders to prepare for the eventuality of war, carry out diplomatic missions, and, should all else fail, lead the war effort. Owls with your first orders and other directions will be waiting for you in your offices, but I must first ask: do you accept?"

It was clear to Johann through the Chancellor's serious tone and countenance that there was going to be no argumentation on any of the details, and if they refused the offer would just be made to someone else. While Johann, like most of the magical community, had little concern for the troubles and pesky wars of the muggle world, he could not ignore the war that loomed on the horizon and the darkness from within the magical community that threatened to exploit such war to cause horrors beyond imagination. He may have been a wizard, separated from the muggles, but he was still a German citizen and noble and he was honour bound to defend the people.

"What of the Statute of Secrecy?" Brun inquired.

"I am certain that all of you are smart enough to find a way around that little problem, your records speak enough of that," the Kaiser answered. They all had plenty of experience working around muggles, but with a war they would have to be more lenient with the statute as well as deal with each situation as they come.

"I accept," Johann announced with haste, shocking everyone especially his friends.

"As do I," Brunhilde was quick to join.

"So long as I get to help people, then I will accept," Wil promptly added.

"For the sake of defeating the darkness, I will accept," Al proudly answered.

"Good answers," Chief Reiner replied. "Now I believe you would not have had the time to write your reports for your mission in Silesia, so it be best that they were done before reporting to your new stations."

"Remember, your involvement is top secret and you are not to tell a single living soul of your mission unless I or your chancellor order otherwise," the Kaiser added.

"Swear upon your magic to keep this secret!" the Chancellor of Magic ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the four friends chorused. "I swear upon my magic to keep this secret until you otherwise order." They could feel the oath take place deep within their magic cores.

"It has been an honour, Your Majesty!" they bowed reverently, earning them a smile and a nod from the monarch. They turned back to the door, which opened with a knock and they were once again finding their way through the Imperial Palace under escort. Rather than choosing to steal something like he originally planned, Johann wordlessly and wandlessly casted temporary Notice-me-not spells on random vases just to mess with the palace staff for a few days. Out in the cold January weather of Berlin, they quickly found an empty alleyway out of sight of any muggles to apparate back to their office.

 **Wulf Manor outside Konigsberg, Prussia, German Emire. 10 January 1913**.

After writing their reports and collecting the missives sent from the Chancellor, the quartet soon found themselves in the parlour room of Johann's family manor. Gloomy was not the right word to describe the air of the room, but stressed definitely fit the bill. They randomly picked their favourite resting spots and took to nursing pints of imported butterbeer as they grimaced at the orders directing their deployment. They were still young and yearned for the excitement of the world, but their experience as aurors had made wary of the art of war, and even more so of diplomacy.

"I'm of to Italy to work with our ambassador in assuring our alliance," Wil broke the silence from a reading chair next to the hearth. "Maybe I can find some ancient magical tomes in the Magical Library of Rome. I heard they have the oldest collection, including texts from the Library of Alexandria."

"Lucky you, I have to go to England to work with the ambassador there," Brunhilde added enviously, sitting in the other, larger reading chair she shared with Johann. "I would have thought the author would have wrote the script to send the woman to such a romantic country." The three men gave concerned looks at her, but they just waved it aside as one of her usual antics. They would not understand. "What about you, Al?"

"I'm off to Austria to help bolster their military capabilities," he answered flatly, sitting on a couch opposite the hearth.

"Really?" she countered. He handed the paper missive to prove his point. "I guess they really are hush-hush about your mission, or maybe it has not been finished," she glanced in a different direction with a knowing expression like she was looking at someone.

Everyone then looked to Johann expectantly, waiting for him to join in. "They're sending me to Strassburg for a Top-secret mission that can only be given by word of mouth," he informed them in a bored tone, showing Brun and the others his paper.

"So we're being split up," Wil spoke the thought everyone in the room had.

"If we can't accomplish our tasks without each other then we do not deserve our ranks," Johann countered, taking a swig of his pint.

"Yes, it is a test of our personal strengths," Albrecht declared with as much eagerness as you probably could get out of him.

The black-haired trickster had faith in his friends, they were the best of the best just as he was, but there were only four of them and they were leading a war effort against two of the largest empires in the world while separated from each other. If it came to war, he wanted to be out there in the field to fight for his people, but he was unsure he would be able to fulfil the roles he would be given, and thus fail his friends and country. His dedication was the only thing that drove him to answer so quickly back at the meeting and he could not back down from his promises.

Brunhilde was not a leader, its the reason she was still a lieutenant, so she would normally be less eager to take on responsibilities such as playing a key role in pre-war diplomacy and eventually leading on the frontlines. However, the moment she heard her best friend agree first, she could not let him go alone on that path. She had to do this for him and for the others.

War happened, humans will always be humans so there was no way to stop conflict, only lessen the effects. That was Albrecht's philosophy, he believed that it should be fairly fought and civilians left out of suffering as much as possible. A powerful dark wizard, who clearly had an advantage over the muggles, wanting to exploit suffer to further his own agenda outraged the blond auror. It was his duty to stop such an atrocity from taking place and he felt compelled to stop the muggle governments from doing similarly horrible things to the innocents, even if it meant fighting in the war to make it as short as possible.

Wilhelm was the odd man out. Yes, he wanted to help people, it was his job as the squad's medic. However, he was also a scientist and as such he strove to learn everything that he possibly could, even from the muggles. The magical community had magic, obviously, that advanced them pretty far ahead of their non-magical counterpart, but they had pretty much reached their peak a long time ago. Sure, there were plenty of magical theories that needed to be tested, but that was it. Whereas the muggles were still chugging along on the rails of advancement with no signs of stopping in sight. They had gone from living as peasants and serfs living in squalor to individuals that built great machines and cities that touched the sky in a little over a century. But he had found that this new era of muggle technology had also ushered in republicanism and democracy, delightful and attractive facades for the great evil that was corruption and brought on nothing better than authoritarianism, a dreadful mistake that the muggles had forgotten from the lessons of the Romans and Greeks. Wil saw this and wanted to learn from the muggles, both their success and their failures, so that he could help the wizarding world progress and what better way to do that than to fight in their war and see what they have to offer.

The quartet of friends kept silent for several moments, pondering on their thoughts and the future. Johann glanced over at Brun beside him, she had finished off her pint and the lightweight that she was could barely keep her eyes open. He smiled warmly, thinking about how he and Albrecht were both on their fourth pint but were only slightly showing intoxication.

Johann relished moments like these and he knew that he would have to enjoy this one as much as he could. A cold night spent with the people that meant the most to him around a warm hearth and cold butterbeer to ease the tensions from a long day of work. And with Brun curled up next to him on the oversized comfy chair it could almost be described as a perfect night. But alas, the looming darkness of war dampened those sentiments.

"You all bes' write t'me an' eachother as of'en as possible," Brunhilde slurred as she snuggled deeper in between the chair and her friend. "An' don' go skippin the details."

"You know we can't do that given that some of us will be working around sensitive information," Al chastised the intoxintoxicated woman.

"No fun, bastard," she growled at her blond friend.

"Just keep in contact, guys. Once a week at the very least," Wilhelm added. "Lord knows we will need each other to get through this war alive."

They all nodded in agreement, well three of them did while Brun nodded off halfway through her answer. Johann playfully jabbed her in the side, right in one of her tickle spots and earned himself a cry and a half hearted punch in the shoulder. He mirthfully beamed back at her murderous glare.

"Try to stay away from alchohol while in London, you'll only make a fool of yourself and embarrass the German government," Johann chided at her. "Come on let's get you to bed."

 **Secret I** **mperial Military Headquarters, Outskirts of Strassburg, Alsace-Lorraine, German Empire. 29 August 1913.**

Brunhilde was glad to be back in Germany. But it was a ridiculous process to go through just to get access to the base where Johann was stationed. She had to get all sorts of muggle security clearances as well as magical ones. The Magical Chancellery had to escort her to where the base was and past the wards and barriers. What surprised her though was the large number of muggles working along side wizards on the site, which was guarded from sight by tall walls and aurors.

The escorts left her at the doorstep to Johann's office after she knocked. "Come in," she heard his voice call out from inside, so she complied and opened the door to reveal the mess of an office.

The room's only occupant sat behind a desk in the centre cluttered with note books, magic tomes, and assorted paperwork wearing a military dress uniform minus the combination cap. His attention immediately broke away from his work when she entered. "Ah, Brun, I've been expecting you for a few days," the black-haired trickster tiredly but cheerfully smiled at his friend. Making quick time, he was on his feet and around the desk to embrace her tightly. "How are you? How was England?"

Brun took a few extra moments to relish in his embrace before separating to answer his questions. "Oh I've been busy, with the Chancellor and all giving me Hell in order to get here. At least I got a praise from the Kaiser for helping keep things positive with Britain. And England was still England. Shitty weather, awful food, and annoying MPs," she shrugged at her time across the channel. She really enjoyed her time there, meeting the people, experiencing the culture, seeing the ancient magic, and even learning the politics of being a diplomat. "Oh! I did have this one amazing dish though! I stayed with this delightful Irish family one night and they made an amazing Shepard's pie that was so delicious! Only the Irish can make potato dishes as well as we can. At least they don't waste them to make that terrible shit the Russians call vodka."

Johann chuckled heartily at his friend's antics. He was glad that she enjoyed her time there and the job, even if she didn't forwardly state it he could still tell that she had a good time despite the circumstances. "Britannia may rule the waves but they still can't control their weather nor their shitty cooking," he laughed at his own joke along with his colleague. He sat back against his desk, carful not to knock anything over, and waved his want to conjure a chair for his friend to take a seat next to him.

"Poor Britain, no way to defend themselves from the truth. We really ought to give them a break," the blonde woman added mirthfully as she took her seatseat. Spotting a bottle of muggle whiskey and pair of glasses, she flicked her wand to summon them over and pour out some for the both of them. "I'll only have a little bit, but it will be nice to have something while you tell me what you've been doing for the past few months."

Johan smirked and gladly accepted the offered glass before beginning. "Oh man, it's been one Hell of a-"

He was suddenly cut off by an impatient knock on the door. Groaning loud enough for Brun to hear and mumbling something about there never being a boring day, he answered the door. "Enter, and be quick about your business," he sternly ordered.

A young muggle soldier with a funny mustache entered, carrying an envelope under one arm, and saluted to the two officers. "Colonel Wulf, Major," the Austrian accented enlistedman guessed her rank by the rank insignia on her dress uniform.

"What is it, Lance Corporal Hitler, this better be important," Johann rolled his eyes with indignation.

"Yes, sir. A report from that Roma wench you hired in Metz," the young runner informed as he held out the envelope for his superior officer. Johanns eyes widened at those words and quickly took the report. "I don't know why you resorted to hiring another inferior person for espionage when we have ou-"

"That will be enough, Mr Hitler. Now be on your way before you get yourself in more trouble than you are already in," Johann growled, which was enough to terrify the soldier to quickly salute with an unmanly squek and scamper out of the office.

As soon as he was out, the black-haired trickster downed his entire glass and sighed heavily. "I don't hate that many people, but I really hate that son of a bitch. Apparently several others in high command don't like the bastard so they stuck me with him and I can't get rid of the fucker any time soon."

"Wow. It's a rarity to see someone get that far on your bad side. I can tell that he was nothing good, like I can feel something dark about him even though he has no magic," Brunhilde commented with furrowed brows.

"I've sensed it too, but he's nothing more than a loudmouthed muggle that loves to preach about his pretty wild and hateful opinions quite regularly. I swear the man is going to get himself killed on the battlefield with the way he acts," Johann paused to pour himself another glass, "that is if I don't kill him myself." Brun chuckled at the remarks.

He then opened the sealed envelope and proceeded to read the report. The longer he read, the darker his expression grew. It was obviously not a good message. Then again, bad news was becoming a more frequent thing with current international relations being as tense as they are.

After reading through the thick packet of papers, he crumpled them up and dropped them onto the concrete floor. With a wave of his wand, he wordlessly casted an incendio spell to burn up the papers, then smothered the ashes under his boot.

"There's been another bombing, this time in France near the border with Belgium. I'll need to write my report to the chancellor beforebefore she sends her evidence to him," he informed his friend sourly.

"Another? That's the tenth one this year! The ones in France made keeping the peace and British neutrality a difficult task," Brunhilde whined.

"Aye, and the muggle police just mark them up as nationalist attacks but that's because they don't understand all the evidence," he explained. "My informant in France and auror investigators in Germany have determined that these attacks are being committed with magic. And there's only one wizard I can think of that would be orchestrating these."

"Grindelwald," she supplied the answer with a grimace.

Johann nodded in return. "He's trying his damndest to spark the war, and he's doing pretty well at causing us migranes. It's like he has followers all over Europe and I fear the attacks will only get worse until the bastard gets the war he wants. Everytime we get a lead, he just slips away."

"Has he tried attacking this base?" his best friend inquired. "All the security makes it pretty obvious that you're up to something critical to the war effort, something he would want to know about."

"You would be correct, he is the reason we are a month behind schedule on our project. He's been trying to infiltrate us since May, but he has not had muchmuch success. He knows where we are, but he hasn't a clue as to what we're doing either. I've almost used all of the government's store of veritaserum to interrogate his spies and completely obliviate their memories, but they still end with cold trails. It's to be expected that he would give us false information with his high risk espionage," he scowled absently at the train of thought.

The mention of his project caught her attention. In the last seven months, Johann had only a few references here and there to the project the Imperial government tasked him with in January. He never mentioned any details or what they were really working on other than it was critical for potential operations. She couldn't blame him though because the quartet were under strict orders to limit discussion on their work so as to avoid a leak should their owls be read by someone less than savoury.

"So, Hann, what exactly are you working on that's under so much security? You've skipped a few too many details in your letters," she joked with a playful punch to his side.

"Well, since you have the same security clearance as I do, I think it is safe to let you in on this secret. However, I think it ould be better to show and tell about this spectacle," Johann perked up at the chance to get out of his office.

Setting their glasses aside, he took the lead in guiding his friend out of the office and out of the maze-like office building. thethe building itself was an oddity considering the natural setting of its location, but it was also accompanied by a few barracks, a weapons arsenal, and other necessary operational buildings, all of which were surrounded by a dense forest. Not to mention the walled off section that was obviously the project.

They found their way over to the two sets of train tracks that entered the site and followed past the walls and directly into the hubbub of action taking place. Walking past labourers moving along materials, the rails began to decline towards a hill and Brunhilde finally realised that they were headed towards a tunnel in the hill.

"So you have spent seven months digging a hole to put your train in," she commented perversely as they stood befor the entrance.

"Ha ha, joke all you want, but we have been working on the world's longest tunnel that will allow us to move our armies miles behind enemy lines should we go to war with France. They won't know that we got them until we blow open the door on the other side," he explained as they started walking over to the command tent.

Brun was actually quite impressed by how well made the tunnel was and how secured it was. And she couldn't help but chuckle at the muggle teams of labourers struggling to move their carts of rubble or supplies up and down the rails without magic. The command tent was mostly barren except for a few tables with local maps, so Brun just assumed it was for leadership meetings and such.

"You have to be using magic to dig this tunnel, otherwise it would never be done in any reasonable time frame. Not to mention all the structural support you would have to build. I doubt muggles could complete such a feat, let alone do it well and in good time," she claimed as she surveyed the enclosed site that was jam packed with rubble piles and stacks of unused rails.

"Aye, I have mostly wizards and witches digging the actual tunnel and building structure supports while muggles are taking care of the debris and laying the tracks. I've had so many sleepless nights trying to get this project started and picking out the best command staff," he answer with a sag in shoulders as if her were getting tired again.

Johann's partner was genuinely surprised by all the effort he put into his work. While he always did completed quality work, he was more lacking in the initiative department. He was always so close to getting the top spot but always fell short somehow to get second place, with the exception of the final exam for their auror training.

They made their way around the base at an easy pace to inspect all the buildings and introduce the newcomer to the other officers and civilian administrators. She was surprised to find out that the wizard and witch labourers freely used magic around the muggles, but she also learned that the muggles had to live on base and were obliviated whenever they left. The other officers seemed a little skeptical about another one of the infamous quartet joining their staff, probably fearing her to be as chaotic as her partner. She would have to change that.

The tour had finished when they arrived at Johann's private quarters late into the night. The end of shift bell had rung and trolleys bearing workers, both magical and muggle alike, had pulled up from the work site. Another day was finished and the base began to die down as lanterns were lit and sentinels took their posts.

Johann tidied up his room quickly, preparing his bed for the new comer and the couch for himself. He would have to figure out her sleeping arrangements in the morning before his daily inspection. Brun on the other hand was just glad to be able to see him after so long, even though she wished the trickster would stop being a gentleman and share the bed with her like they had when they were children.

"You are the one that started all of this and planned it out? All on your own?" she inquired with a raises eyebrow as the target of the inquiry wrapped up the quick cleaning.

"I know, even I surprise myself sometimes," he answered with a fake look of shock. "I had a meeting with the military's chief of staff back in February and he wanted a plan to invade France made using magic and I suggested the tunnel. He gave me a time frame and I gave him the budget I needed to fit that time."

"And you've led all this by yourself," Brunhilde pondered rhetorically next to him at his bedside. "Since you're so smart, why hasn't that big brain of yours come up with the notion to finally marry me?" she jabbed him in the ribs.

"You know I can't. You still owe me a life debt and if I ask you that, you won't have the free will to say yes or no on your own accord," he countered seriously as he looked out his window to the bright full moon, to which she frowned with a pout.

"I'll say yes either which way, you just need to get over this notion of yours. I love you, Johann, and not in the platonic way we love the other way two," she gave him a longing look. "There is no way I will ever be able to repay that debt anytime soon. Neither of us are stupid enough to get ourselves stuck in situations like that ever again."

He turned back to take in her radiant beauty that shone its fullest in the moon light. No matter how many times he saw her he was always dumbstruck by it all, her well-kept blond hair bound in a bun, her fair skin carefully groomed, her lush lips, and her piercing gold eyes. He could get lost gazing at her all day, and she would allow it because she would do it as well.

"I love you too, Brunhilde, more than i can ever put into words," he broke their silent moment. "Though I wouldn't be so sure about the impossibility of repaying the debt, war is on the horizon and the battlefield is the home of humanity's equalizer. Anything can happen depending on how our cards play out against the enemy's hand." He wanted to have the debt paid off so he could free her from the burden of having her magic subservient to his own, but he couldn't be reckless and throw his life away. If he died because he jumped too deep in a situation to trigger her debt, it would break her heart and he would deserve all the fire Hell had in store for his sins.

His expression must have visibly soured because she leaned up against him for an embracing and rested her head against his shoulder, due to her being too short to actually rest it on his shoulder. Just the touch, like all other times, was enough to ease his soul and release the months of tension built up in his muscles. He hugged her back affectionately with a little squeeze to make her squeak.

"You really need to work on your metaphors desperately. Seriously, card metaphors in that context are way too cliche and too predictable," she musedmused to lighten the mood as she cuddled into his arms. "I have a month before I leave to work as a diplomat again in Scandinavia, you should work on it while I'm away."

"You have a month free? What are you to do with so much time on your hands?" he inquired mirthfully.

"Oh I don't know, maybe I'll hit the town and catch a few clubs to have fun," she jested.

"You and I both know that going to a club is not a good idea for you, especially if alchohol is involved," Johann chided with a laugh.

"Cuddles then?"

"That sounds more like something we would do. Let's make sure news of this doesn't reach the ears of two extremely jealous fellows."

 **-End Chapter One-** **Foreshadowing quotes:** "You all have done well in your training, but now is the time for the Auror Training Final Exam."

"Fuck this is cold."

"Johann look out!"

"God damn it, you're not dying on me now!"

"Fuck! Assassins!"

"Get down, Your Majesty!"

"You seek knowledge, Young Wilhelm, I can show it to you."

"Alchemy? The Philosopher's stone? Immortality is within reach, but is it worth this price?"

"We may have lost an ally, but we have also gained another."

"To war it is then."

 **A/N: So yeah, my first attempt at a fanfic in the HP universe. It's also my first attempt to write on the mobile app, so please forgive me for any spelling and grammar mistakes. I might just switch back to using my computer. I'm truly sorry to any Brits I may have insulted, I know that not all your food is terrible, fish and chips is pretty good.** **Any and all historical figures are being depicted for fictional purposes and I mean no insult to their memory, with the exception of Hitler, I won't pull any punches there and he will get what he deserves. Any inaccuracies in their personalities and traits are due to creative liberties and the fact this is taking place over 100 years ago.** **In other news, I had a helluva lot of fun writing and planning this story, so I can't wait to write more.** **Will this alt history reach the Harry Potter era? Most certainly, but we still have this rollercoaster to ride. Will Dumbledore have a role? Yeah I can't really ignore him despite my personal opinions, so he's in for his own rude awakening.** **Like I said before, I had a lot of fun writing this and will continue to do so, as well as My Tennis Academia. Let me know in the reviews/comments how you liked as well as what you think I can do to improve the story. Reviews are welcomed and I will respond to them as they are needed for improving writing quality. Don't forget to leave a follow/favourite/kudos/subscribe if you like this story and want to see more!** **Until next time!** **~Grandmaster Robin~** **[Will be on Ao3 soon]**


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